What's For Dinner

Romaine & Spinach with Buttermilk Dressing

Simple salad, but so delicious! I love to make homemade croutons by cubing bread, tossing in olive oil, Italian seasoning, Paremesan cheese and a dash of salt. Toast under the broiler. The dressing:
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 T. mayonnaise
small clove of garlic
1/2 t. Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper
Puree in the blender until smooth. Toss over torn Romaine and Spinach with croutons.

Hillary’s Pasta
(this is the new name I’ve given the dish although I know she got the recipe from another friend!)
Bow Tie Pasta
Shredded cooked chicken
Pine nuts
Chopped tomatoes
Julienned basil
Lemon zest and juice
Grated parmesan cheese
Heat some butter and olive oil, S&P on low and toss with everything.
Can be served hot, room temp or cold – it’s amazing!!
Also, check out Hillary's blog - it's one of my favorites!

Bolognese Sauce
This is one of my new favorite things to make – it’s hearty, healthy, comforting… yummy!
Chop a small onion, some carrots, celery and a clove or two of garlic (sorry, no exact amounts around here!)
Sautee them with some olive oil, S&P, in a stock pot for about 10 min (until some crust forms on the pan). Add some ground beef (and ground veal if you wish) and mash it up as it browns so it is in small pieces. Once meat is browned, add some dry white wine and simmer until evaporated. Add 2 cans of tomatoes with juice (I use tomato puree because I don't like chunks of tomato!), dried oregano, basil, 2 Tbs of milk (to make the meat more tender) cover and reduce to a simmer for about an hour. Stir the sauce, smashing it on the side of the pot to get rid of any large chunks.
Enjoy over your favorite pasta. I love to use large rigatoni because the chunky sauce gets trapped inside and it’s delicious!!

Thanks to some bloggy friends who shared some dinner ideas! This one is from Tania
Mushroom Pasta
1 medium onion
1 lb ground beef
1 (1lb) box of rigatoni pasta
3 cans cream of mushroom soup w/ 5 cans of
water added
seasoning to taste (salt, pepper)
(I will also add crushed garlic and diced mushrooms for extra flavor. But this is not necessary to originally recipe.)
Saute onion and add ground beef until browned; drain excess fat if desired. Add remaining ingredients and stir well. Cook until most of liquid is very thick/almost gone; roughly 45 minutes.
Sounds great! I can’t wait to try it.

Another bloggy friend offered up this easy recipe! This one comes from Rachel at The Boni Bunch . I’m calling it:
Rachel’s Fantastic Fettuccine
1 lb Fettuccine pasta
1 26oz can Spaghetti Sauce
4-6 oz cream cheese (depending on preference)
1 lb browned ground beef/turkey cooked with 1 chopped onion garlic, salt, pepper, other seasonings as desired
Mix sauce, cheese, meat/onion, and seasonings & allow cheese to melt & mix with sauce... simmer then add to pasta...
I have to admit, everything is better with cream cheese! So I'm excited to try this one!

Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin & Veggie Rice
Trader Joes has amazing pork tenderloins! I marinated mine in Trader Joe San’s Soyaki and grilled it outside. I made some jasmine rice in my rice cooker and added steamed broccoli, carrots and petite peas. I put in a splash of the Soyaki and some slivered almonds and that rice dish has become one of my new favorites!!

Beef Stroganoff-ish
My husband is part Swedish and was asking for this dish last week, so I thought I’d make something up!
Sautee half an onion chopped. Add beef stew meat and brown (adding S&P). Add vegetable stock, covering the meat by about an inch. Add some worcestershire sauce, thyme, cover and simmer for at least an hour (until the meat is very tender and falls apart). After you can break up the meat easily, add a can of cream of mushroom soup. Boil some egg noodles, add the sauce and voila! Stroganoff-ish!
I served this with steamed green beans.

Classic Meatloaf
I know I've posted The Kitchen Sink Loaf before and it's amazing! But this is my favorite classic meatloaf recipe from Everyday Food Magazine (my dinner lifeline!) I like to add chopped carrots and some herbs. HERE is the recipe.

Lentil Quesadillas
Hmmm… sounds like nothing I’d ever make let alone eat! But I was cruising through Trader Joe’s the other day and their little sample stand was handing this out and I quickly became a believer and bought all the ingredients!
Take Trader’s steamed lentils, heat them up with a little Trader’s Salsa Verde. Spread on a corn tortilla with some cheese on top and crisp up in a pan. It’s easy and amazing!

Avacado Cheese Dip
It's Superbowl Weekend, so how about an amazing dip!!! This one once again comes from my dear friend Lyric
2 8oz. packages of cream cheese, softened (we use neufchatel cheese)
1 1/2 c. shredded white cheddar or monterey jack
1 ripe avacado
1 small onion
1 clove of garlic crushed
1 4 oz. can of green chilies drained
Combine all ingredients in food processor and process until very smooth
Serve with veggies, chips, crackers or just eat it with a spoon!

Taco Salad
My mom introduced me to an amazing dressing that just might change your life! El Torito’s Cilantro Pepita Caesar Dressing. Tear up Romaine lettuce, add corn, black beans, chicken, shredded cheddar cheese, broken tortilla chips (they’re best if the crush them in your hands and blow them on your salad like Nacho Libre!), and of course the magic dressing.